Scarlet Rose
by KittyoftheNight
Summary: A young woman by the name of Rose Lockwood is on the run. She's been trying to run from her life for years and has nothing to show for it, but blood feet and a wounded shoulder. Will a run in at Sherwood Forest change her life for the better? WillXOC
1. Will Scarlet and Rose Lockwood

**Scarlet Rose**

**Will Scarlet & Rose Lockwood**

**Chapter 1**

The sound of dogs at her heels met the young woman's ear as she ran, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. The hooves of the horses beating upon the ground and kicking up loose dirt from the earth came to her ears as well as she nearly tripped over her own feet. Never had she been so scared for her life. Actually, that wasn't necessarily true, but that's beside the point. At the moment, she was terrified of being caught.

Earlier, she had been caught trying to steal a small loaf of bread, her wrist still painfully red from the incident. Now, here she was, running from the sheriff's men after a _just_ beating. The young woman even had bruises that were starting to show as a result of it hours earlier. Her only hope now was if she could make it into Sherwood Forest in time, otherwise, she'd have no chance at survival.

"Faster!" one of the Sheriff's men yelled, urging his horse to go faster.

The young woman gasped for breath as she ran, her feet tired and nearly raw from her hours of running away. Granted, the men hadn't been chasing her for all those hours on their horses, but she'd still been running from them just the same.

_Almost there, just a bit further, _she thought to herself as she urged her feet a bit further.

Just a few yards from entering the forest, she heard a whistling noise coming toward her, before she felt an arrow pierce through her left shoulder. She then stumbled to the ground, hand clutching at her shoulder painfully. Quickly, she got back up and ran forward, not wanting to be caught by the Sheriff of Nottingham's men.

"Go after her!" the head yelled, watching as one of his men rode forward into the woods.

The man tried his best to ignore the eeriness of the forest, but about a quarter of a mile in he fled, not wanting to be in there any longer. That left the young woman to herself finally, though with an arrow still protruding from her shoulder.

Her chest continued to heave as she continued forward, dragging her feet slowly and painfully across the leafy forest floor from fatigue. She felt like she'd collapse at any given moment as she walked aimlessly through the forest, already becoming lost. To her it was like walking in circles, her mind slowly wandering elsewhere. All that she knew was that she was getting deeper and deeper into Sherwood forest.

A hour later, the sound of little birds chirping slowly met her ears, along with the sound of water. It came to her in sweet waves, something that soothed her tired soul.

"Water…" she whispered softly as her eyes landed upon the rolling river before her.

A tired smile slowly curled onto her face as she stepped forward, her footing faltering before she collapsed onto the ground unconscious, her body no longer able to withstand what she'd been through. She had never even seen the young man hiding in the bushes across the river watching her or stand up and make his way across after she collapsed. The man himself held curiosity and slight worry in his eyes as he looked down at the woman before him, his eyes taking in her long brown hair that hid the bruise on her face. He also took note to the arrow in her left shoulder, along with her bloody feet, and bruised wrist. All of this was a shock to him as he knelt down before her, staring down at her face before braking off what he could of the arrow, leaving the rest in her shoulder for the time being. Normally, he'd be a bit skeptical about helping someone outside of his camp, but her being a woman changed his mind. He knew that he couldn't leave her lay there like that.

"Let's get you somewhere safe," he said quietly, though more to himself as he picked her up, careful not to injure her further.

T

Two days later, a dark haired woman woke up to the world around her with a groan, her entire body aching. The last thing that she remembered, was running away from the sheriff's men. She didn't really know what happened after that, save for the fact that she had managed to make it into the forest. Upon opening her eyes though, she let out a scream at the face she saw inches in front of her own. She thought that it had been one of Nottingham's men until two other men came running in at the sound of her scream.

"Bull! Get out of here!" a man whom looked to be about the same age as the woman yelled, shoving the curly haired man out of the hut.

He then turned toward the woman, kneeling down in front of her.

"Are you alright my lady?" he asked, a bit of hair falling down in his eyes before he brushed it out of the way.

She just sat there staring at him, unsure of what to do. Her eyes then traveled to the large, tall man that stood by the opening of the hut, his kind blue eyes staring after her with concern.

"Who…who are you?" she asked the two of them softly, still a bit frightened.

Noticing the look of fear in her face, the young man before her spoke.

"Don't worry, we're not of Nottingham's soldiers," he said, disgusted at the mere thought of the Sheriff of Nottingham. "My name is Will Scarlet my lady," he said, introducing himself to her as he bowed his head.

"And I am John Little," the giant of a man replied.

"Now, may I ask the name of the lady?" Will asked, a handsome smile on his face.

"Rose…Rose Lockwood," she said softly, raising her eyes to meet his own.

She gave a small smile at his blue-green eyes, seeing the kindness in them. As she sat up a bit more she grimaced, wincing and holding onto her shoulder. It was then that she noticed it was bandaged and that her shirt had been changed, making her face go red.

"Don't worry Miss Lockwood, my wife is the one that took care of you," John told her, assuring her that no man had touched her.

"I wrapped your feet though," Will admitted, causing her to look at him once more.

"Thank you Master Scarlet…Master Little…" she said, bowing her head.

Will went slightly red at being called master, not used to such titles or respect. Little John merely chuckled, a smile on his face.

"Bugger me, I never been called Master before," John said, turning to Will afterward. "Don't think he has either," he added with a grin.

Although, after thinking about what she said, he had to wonder where she came from. Not only that, but how she came to Sherwood Forest as well. It was all too obvious to both Will and John that she'd been running from the Sheriff's men.

"Say, where about do ya come from little missy?" John asked curiously.

At this she turned her eyes away, before slowly standing up, wincing as she put pressure on her feet. In fact, she would have fallen if not for Will catching her.

"Th-thank you," she stuttered, before trying to push away and walk out of the hut, but Will wouldn't have it.

She didn't like thinking about the way that she had lived. She truly hated it. In fact, it had been the reason why she had run away. For most of her teenage years and part of her earlier years, she had basically been a slave, treated like dirt if not worse. She had run away the night that her 'Master' had tried to bed her. How she hated it, causing shivers to run down her spine.

"You're not going anywhere," Will said, setting her back down on the bed of hay and cloth.

"I apologize, but I would rather not speak of such things to that of strangers," she told them, having no intention of speaking of her past.

"I ain't goin' ta force ya," John said, raising his hands up in the air in defense.

This seemed to put Rose slightly at ease, but she was still wary of these two men for she knew nothing of them save for their names. After a few minutes of silence though, John finally spoke.

"Well, I think I'll leave ya for now. See if I can't scrounge up some food," he said, before nodding his head and walking out of the hut.

That left Rose and Will behind to themselves, leaving possible chance of talk.

"So…" Will began, trying to start up a conversation. "Exactly what was it that ended you with an arrow in the shoulder, if you don't mind my asking?" Will questioned.

"Apparently, they see being hungry as a crime," she said simply.

Her face turned slightly sour when Will let out a chuckle in response.

"I mean no disrespect miss, it's just that it seems your skills as a thief need work," he told her, a slight smile on his face.

"You think I don't already know that? I've landed myself in trouble plenty of times as a result," she said bitterly, remembering the whippings she'd received at times from her former 'Master'.

It made Rose's back hurt just thinking about all of the torture she'd been put through over the years. No longer was the skin of her back soft and flawless, nor smooth to the touch as it should be. Every time she would brush her fingers over it she became disgusted, each scar upon her back a constant memory of her life before. She had been struck so many times that she'd lost count the number of scars placed upon her back.

"So, I guess that means it's safe to say this isn't the worst you've gotten then?" he assumed.

Rose merely turned her head away before standing up, biting her tongue at the pain. She ignored Will's protests of her moving and left the hut, walking as far away as possible into the forest. She just couldn't stand there with those questions looming in the air. There were too many memories brought up at such questions.

"Far too much pain to remember…" she spoke aloud to no one in particular save for herself.

She had no clue of the ears in the forest that followed her, her thoughts set on clearing her mind and possibly running away again. After all, she had nowhere to go, no place to stay, no family, no nothing. To her, life was an empty chasm on the road to nowhere.

Quietly, she lifted her shirt up just below her chest, gazing down in disgust at the discoloration of her skin. The sickly color almost made her feel nauseous, though the pain that she felt was far worse.

"I wish I didn't have to run all the time," Rose exclaimed solemnly, running her fingers over her scarred skin.

"Then don't," came the sound of Will's voice as he stepped out of his hiding spot in the trees.

"Will," Rose stuttered in surprise, quickly fixing her shirt. "Have you been following me?"

"Stay with us instead of running. Take up home here," he told her, watching the change on her face.

No one had ever said anything like that to her before, never offered such a thing. The thought itself had crossed her mind once, about just staying in the forest. After all, she too was an outlaw now, being hunted down for nothing save the mere need for food.

"And why should I trust you?" she asked, her eyes trailing over his face.

"Why not?" he countered, a sly look on his face.

"Because I know nothing of you," she said, turning away from him and starting to walk away.

"Wait!" he called out, running forward.

She stopped for a moment, turning her head slightly to look at him.

"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked.

"Well, I'm always out here. After all, I'm normally on watch duty," he informed her.

"Watch duty?" she questioned curiously.

"Yes. I tax any rich man whom wishes to cross safely through Sherwood Forest," he said proudly.

This made Rose let out a faint laugh at his tone of voice.

"It's also the only reason that I found you by the river my lady," Will spoke truthfully.

This made her turn around to look at him properly, a strange emotion lacing her features.

"You…you're the one that found me?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, my lady, that would be me," he said, giving her a slight bow.

She stood there for a moment in silence, thinking things through. She could tell that there was no deceit in his words. All of them were true, he had saved her.

"Then I…am indebted to you," she whispered, bowing her head to him.

"What? No, you don't…"

"I shall stay," she whispered, her head still bowed in respect for the man before her.

This silenced him for a moment as he looked upon her. She had just said that she would stay. She would stay for the mere reason that he had been the one who had found her. He then smiled at her, before coming forward and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

T

Three weeks later

Rose was blending right in with everyone around her. Her shoulder was healing quite nicely as well, only leaving behind the beginnings of a reddish scar. It still hurt her though if she strained herself too much or pulled it wrong, but she was getting used to it. Also, Will had been particularly nice to her for the most part. There were times though when he was rather blunt if in a bad mood, but he was still fairly nice to her. Although, nice or not, she was still indebted to him.

Within the next week, there was little to no discrepancies with her presence among the camp. Although, given the current amount of supplies, she was still sleeping in Will's hut. Still, she had been attempting to collect supply for her own. It was not out of disrespect for Will, but merely for her own peace of mind. She didn't like feeling as though she were a burden or taking up much needed space. That is why she was so persistent on scrounging up materials.

"Rose!" a male voice called out, startling her and causing her to drop the firewood that she'd been gathering in her arms.

"Much," she exclaimed, finding the slightly older man standing before her.

"My apologies my lady, I didn't mean to startle you," he said.

Rose merely let out a sigh as she began picking the firewood back up, struggling to hold all of it in her arms properly.

"It's alright Much. What was it that you needed?" she asked kindly, turning her eyes to the thin haired man.

"Well," he began with a smile, "we found ourselves coming across some extra money and thought you might like to accompany a few of us men to get some new clothes. At least somethin' more suitable for a lady such as yourself," Much explained, causing a bit of heat to raise upon Rose's face.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," she whispered, watching as a smile quickly formed on Much's face.

"Come then my lady," Much proclaimed, taking hold of her arm and dragging her along, the firewood that had been in her arms now on the ground once more.

T

"I'll give you this piece of silver for any scraps of fabric you have laying around," Rose bargained with the tailor.

The tailor in question had plenty of fabric just laying around on the ground, pieces both large and small. She had hoped that her offer would work, even more surprised when the tailor started throwing bits and pieces into a basket for her, filling it right up to the top.

"I was debating on whether or not to throw them away, but with the offer you've given me, I think I've found an alternative," the tailor smiled happily.

Rose even watched as he swept up a few bits of leather and placed them in the basket. Whether it was on purpose or by accident, she was grateful. That bit of leather would work well for making a pair of shoes for her worn feet. When he was finished, they found that he had put together two whole baskets full of scrapped fabric.

"Now, if you come back in a week or two, I'm sure I can put together the same amount of scraps if not more," he told her.

"Much appreciated sir," Rose said, bowing her head to him as she gave him the piece of silver.

After that they exchanged their goodbyes with Rose's promise to return within the following weeks. From there, she went in search for Much and Bull, finding their absence slightly unnerving.

"Much? Bull?" she called, looking around her, but found no response.

She sighed heavily as she walked through the town, trying her best to locate her friends. While doing this she also thought a few things over in her head. As she gazed down at the two baskets she carried, she took notice to particular bits of fabric that kept showing up. It was a nice red color, instantly reminding her of Will. He had a red shirt of his own, but it seemed to be a little worse for wear. Perhaps there would be enough warmer fabric for a scarf as well, perhaps one for both of them. This thought made her smile.

"Lady Lockwood!" came the hurried call of Much's voice.

Turning around, she found him running toward her with Bull right behind him. Just behind them, she saw one of the sheriff's men.

"Oh no…" she whispered, quickly turning and running as fast as she could. "What did you do this time!" she hollered over her shoulder, holding the baskets close to her as she ran.

"Nothing, I swear!" Bull called frantically.

"Someone recognized us," Much chimed in, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Before they knew it, they had more than just one man chasing them. Instead, they had several, just because of Bull's negligence.

"My lady, I have us a horse!" Much shouted, pulling a horse along, before mounting it.

Once he did that, he rode forward, holding his arm out to Rose. She gripped it quickly, allowing him to pull her up onto the horse's back, where Bull soon joined her. With that, they were able to run away, avoiding a possible capture. The last thing that any of them needed was to get caught.

Once they managed to get back into the forest, Bull let out a cheerful holler, happy to be back. Rose laughed quietly at this, finding his antics slightly amusing. It wasn't until they were further in that they saw Will's skeptical face looking back at them, his curiosity turning toward Rose and her slightly red face.

"What happened?" Will asked, jogging forward to meet them.

From there, Much and Bull proceeded to explain the incident at the same time, rambling on and on. Will merely groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose, quietly making his way to the side of the horse and helping Rose off of it.

"Hello Will," she smiled faintly, trying her best to shake off the adrenaline that was still running through her system.

It didn't do her much good though as she stood there, her fingers curled around the sleeve of Will shirt.

"What's with all the cloth?" he asked curiously as he looked at the two baskets full of material.

"Oh, um…" this seemed to bring her to her senses as she blinked a few times, processing his question. "It's for clothing," she said finally, answering his question.

"All of it?" he questioned.

She nodded her head, grabbing the baskets in her hands and handing one of them to Will.

"Yes. That's why there's so much. The tailor said that if I came back next week, I'd likely get even more for a single piece of silver. He even threw in a few pieces of decent leather as well," she finished, a faint smile on her face.

"Really now?" he asked, looking through the pieces of material for confirmation.

While looking through the cloth, Rose caught him lingering upon the pieces of material that she had eyed earlier. A knowing smile made its way to her face as she watched him.

"Does anything in particular catch your interest?" she asked simply.

"Hm? Oh, no, not really," he lied, placing the cloth back into the baskets as they once were.

"Are you sure Will?" she asked, wondering if she'd change his answer.

"Yes, I'm sure," he replied with a nod of his head.

She could still tell that he was lying, but wasn't going to push it. She just let him be and took the baskets back to his hut, a small smile on her face.

"Whatever you say Will, whatever you say," she whispered to herself, chancing a glance at him.

She found him staring at her though when she gazed at him, sending a rush of heat to her face.

**Okay everyone, I hope you enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the first chapter isn't nearly as good as the others. I assure you though that 2, 3, and 4 are much better. I just have to finish up a bit more editing and then they'll be up as well. Please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with comments. :)**


	2. James

**Scarlet Rose**

**James**

**Chapter 2**

Rose sat there quietly in Will's hut, sewing away at the fabric before her, Will's face in mind. She was set on making him a new shirt, one more suitable than his current brown set of rags. She smiled faintly as she thought of what it would look like in the end, just hoping that he would like it. In fact, this had been the first time she had done this out of gratitude instead of having to do it upon an order. Thinking of that, her face scrunched up bitterly, a sour look on her face.

"Something not agreeing with your taste buds my lady?" Will asked, standing in the doorway of the hut.

Rose's face flushed as she looked at him, surprised at his sudden entrance.

"Um...no, just a bad memory," she said quietly, continuing with her stitching.

Will looked on at her, curiosity in his eyes. He'd never met a woman so quiet and reserved as she was. In fact, he found it rather perplexing in his mind. Although, he vowed to figure her out, no matter how long it took him.

"So, what are you making?" he asked, coming to sit down across from her.

"What doesn't it look like I'm making?" she asked with a slight laugh in her voice.

Will merely grinned at her before responding.

"Sleeves," he answered simply.

"Your conclusion is spot on," she smiled, continuing with her stitching once more, only stopping when Will took the cloth from her hands.

"That's a nice bit of cloth you have there. It will make a fine shirt," he expressed, before handing it back to her.

Will sat there for about 5 minutes, just sitting and watching her sew. Shortly after that though, he gave her a small bow.

"I'll be back later, it's my turn to hunt," he said, quickly running off out of the hut and jogging into the forest before she had the chance to say anything to him.

Once he was out of sight, she shook her head, a faint smile curling onto her lips.

T

A few hours later, Rose was finished with her sewing for the night, leaving the finished products folded up for Will to find. She herself laid there on the bed of hay asleep, her legs curled up near her chest as she slept.

Will himself came back a couple hours after Rose had fallen asleep, finding her laying on the bed of hay, a shirt and scarf folded up on a small stool a few feet away from her.

"So much for the deer," he muttered quietly, his eyes taking notice to the clothes that had been folded up.

Upon further inspection, he found it to be the shirt that he had seen her working on earlier, the red material burning clear in his memory. Laying with it was a rather warm looking black scarf. What he found even more curious was a small square of blue cloth that laid upon the bundle. In white thread, she'd sewn his name upon it.

"So, she was making it for me all along?" he mused quietly to himself.

He couldn't help, but to smile as he gazed down at the shirt. She had truly done a fine job on it. In fact, if he were truly honest, he would admit that he had rarely seen such quality work when sewing a shirt. Heck, she'd probably give the King's tailor a run for their money.

"Now what to do?" he spoke quietly, scratching the back of his head for a few moments.

He knew that he had to do something for her in return, but he didn't know what exactly to do for her. He supposed that he could possibly pick her some flowers, maybe fix her dinner in the coming nights, perhaps return her favor. Then again, he knew that his sewing skills were nowhere near as good as hers were. Then again, perhaps he could get John's wife to help him. He was sure that she wouldn't mind lending him a hand for such a task, especially, if he supplied the material.

_After all, she does need something warmer to wear,_ he thought to himself, noticing how she shivered on the bed.

Seeing this, he pulled a pelt from the corner and draped it over her small form, hoping that it would be warm enough. Surprisingly enough, her shivering grew less and less, until it was no more. From there, he found a spot upon the bed of hay on the other side of her, putting enough distance between them so as not to make her uncomfortable. After all, it was his hut and he wanted to be able to sleep upon his own bed.

T

By the time that morning came around, everyone had already risen from their huts, stretching their arms above their heads to meet the bright new day. The only one that wasn't up yet was Rose, whom had spent the previous day working tediously upon her sewing. She was slightly surprised though upon waking up and finding the warm pelt on top of her, but also the fact that the shirt and scarf were absent from the stool that she had placed them on the previous night. This made her smile though, for she knew that Will had found them. She only hoped that he liked them.

With a well placed yawn, she began the task of smoothing out her hair, and whipping the sleep from her eyes. After that, she stood up, making her way out of the hut.

"Good morning little lady," John greeted in his usual manner.

"Good morning John," she responded with a smile. "Do you need help with anything this morning?" she asked, wanting to help in any way that she could.

"Well, if you could bring back a few buckets of water, it'd be mighty appreciated," he said, rubbing the hair of his beard for a moment.

"Will do," she nodded, before quickly running off and grabbing a few empty buckets.

From there, she made her way to the river, her feet moving at a comfortable pace upon the forest floor. She found it comforting though, feeling the earth beneath her feet, the coolness of the soil against her skin. It was something so simply, so small, and yet she never used to have such luxuries with this freedom. Normally, she would have been locked away inside somewhere, no chance of seeing the outside world. She was lucky to have even escaped her _Master_.

"Uh…" she grumbled faintly, feeling a shiver run down her spine at the mere thought of the horrid man.

It was something that she truly wished to forget, but knew that she never would. After all, how can one possibly forget such tortures? The answer is, they can't, no matter how hard they try. This itself was one of the things that she hated the most. She attempted to put this behind her though as she stepped in front of the river, kneeling down and filling one of the two buckets that she had grabbed. Once that one was filled, she filled the other one. She didn't realize how heavy they would be until she tried to pick them both up at the same time.

She groaned in annoyance as she wrapped her hands around the handles for a better grip, heaving them up quickly and walking forward. It only took a few minutes though for her to become tired, the weight of the buckets already pulling at the tender muscles in her shoulder. She had to bite her tongue as the pressure pushed on a particular nerve in her shoulder, sending pain through it in a heartbeat. As a result, she nearly dropped the buckets, but managed to quickly sit them down for a moment.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here?" she heard a gruff voice ask, one in which made her blood run ice cold.

"J-James!" Rose exclaimed, whirling around to face the man.

"So, I was right then," he chuckled, a sick grin on his face as he looked upon her.

"So, this is where you've been hiding Rose? With a band of outlaws and thieves?" James accused.

"Just leave me alone!" she shouted, backing away from him.

"Why? It's not like any man would ever take you. After all, you're broken goods," he grinned, referring to her many scars.

"Just leave me alone!" she repeated, leaving the buckets and making a run for it.

She didn't get very far though as James grabbed hold of her arm roughly, throwing her down to the ground and placing a foot on her stomach.

"You know…you look rather _lovely_ in those rags of yours," he cooed, kneeling down in front of her.

All that did though was earn him a kick in the gut as she tried squirm away. It also earned her a slap in the face though, momentarily stopping her struggles as she held her face.

"Master still wants you back, but sometimes I think that you're more trouble than you're worth," James spat, kicking dirt up into her face.

She sputtered frantically as she tried to rid the earthy mist from her lungs, her eyes blinking rapidly in protest. This only made the man laugh.

"I think it's time to get out of here and take you back home," he said, pulling her up by her hair.

"Go to hell!" she shouted, before throwing her fist between his legs and running.

"You ungrateful wench!" he cried out, laying on the ground as he held his pride in pain.

Rose paid him no attention though as she ran, tripping over her feet every now and then as she rushed forward. She dared not look back, but perhaps that was one of her mistakes. Even though she ran, she could not avoid him as minutes later she was grabbed around the waist, a hand gripping her throat tightly.

"L-l-let g-go!" she choked out, trying her beside to squirm out of his arms.

It did her little good though as he held her tighter, cutting off even more of her oxygen. It was then that her thoughts went to Will, his face popping into her mind.

"Will…" she whispered, pinching her eyes shut as tears fell.

She tried once more to worm her way out of James' grasp, but as usual, she could not. He just held onto her even tighter than before, squeezing her sharply.

"Rose!" she heard someone call out.

"Will…" she whispered, recognizing the voice.

"Let her go!" Will shouted sharply, jumping over a small bush and running forward.

From there, he knocked into the guy, freeing Rose from his clutches. After release, she sputtered a bit, clutching her throat painfully.

"Will," she choked out, drawing his attention for a moment.

That was all that it took though before a dagger was thrust painfully into his side, sending him to his knees for a moment. Rose stood quickly though when James rose a sword above Will's head, intending to strike.

"No!" she cried, running forward and grasping at James' hands.

Annoyed, he merely threw her to the side, causing her to fall on her shoulder and tear the muscle a bit.

"Now, be a good girl and stay put," James grunted with distaste, turning around only to receive a punch to the face by Will's hand, sending him to the ground.

"Never touch her again," Will spat angrily, stabbing the man in the shoulder with the knife that had previously been placed in his side.

The man howled in pain, yelling out and throwing his arms around to try and swat at Will.

"Now…get out of here!" Will ordered as he knelt down beside Rose, clutching his side with one hand.

They both watched as James ran off, cursing them before he left. After that, Rose broke into tears, apologizing to Will. He didn't understand why she was apologizing though, for it was not her fault.

"Come, let's go back," Will said, taking her hand and carefully leading her back to their hut.

As they entered the campsite they noticed the pairs of eyes on them, some going to Rose, while others went to Will.

"What happened to the water?" John asked as he walked up to them, not noticing how Will clutched at his side.

"She's no longer allowed to travel these woods alone," Will told him, gripping her shoulder for a moment as he tried to stand straight. "It's no longer safe for her," he said.

John's brows furrowed when he heard this, now wanting to know what had happened.

"Who was it?" John asked, clutching his long wooden staff in his right hand.

"I don't know. Rose?" Will turned his head in questioned as he looked down at the young woman, her shoulders shaking slightly as she stood there.

Yes, she knew who it was, but she didn't want to admit it to herself. She didn't want to admit that it had been true, that it had really happened, but it did. Her _Master_ wanted her back and he had sent James to fetch her. What she didn't understand though was how he had found her.

"Rose?" Will spoke again, pulling her from her thoughts.

She looked up at him for a moment, her eyes traveling to John, then back to Will again. She hesitated for a moment before speaking, still unsure of herself.

"His…his name is James… James Henry," she whispered, turning her head away from the two men.

"Rose, who is he? Why is he after you?" Will asked, placing his hands on her shoulders.

She nearly flinched away as he did this, the muscles in her shoulder protesting painfully. She knew that a question like this would come up eventually, but she was still dreading it.

"Can we…go back to the hut, please?" she begged, her head still turned away from him.

"I want an answer Rose. I want to know why that man was after you," Will said firmly, ignoring the pain in his side.

"I promise to tell you whatever it is you want to know, but please…let's go back to the hut?" she whispered as she turned toward him, tears welling up in her eyes.

When Will saw this, his grip loosened and he found himself nodding to her request. He knew that he couldn't have her answering him out in the open, otherwise, he'd have her falling to her knees and crying.


	3. The Beginning of an Explanation

**Scarlet Rose**

**The Beginning of an Explanation**

**Chapter 3**

They sat there for a few minutes not really saying anything. The only thing that was happening was Rose taking fabric and wrapping it around Will's waist to cover his bleeding side. The work itself was quiet and simple, but still nothing escaped Rose's lips. That all changed once she was finished though, leaving both John and Will to stare at her expectantly.

"Now, would you mind telling me why that man was after you?" Will asked, watching as she laid down on the bed of hay, curling up a bit.

"I…" she stopped for a moment, taking in another breath. "You wondered why…I responded to the two of you the way that I did when we first met… It's…it's because I was once a slave," she whispered sadly, keeping her head down.

"You mean servant, right?" Will asked, his brows slightly scrunched up in confusion.

"No, Will, I mean slave…not servant. When your own parents sell you as a child that makes you lower then a servant, for you have no freedom. Believe me, I wish I could have had the blessing of being considered a servant instead," she told him, covering her face with her hand.

Just thinking about it sent a deep sadness through her soul, unshed tears dropping to the ground.

"That's why you called us Master then? It was merely outta habit, slip of the tongue," John said, rubbing the back of his neck for a moment.

"Then that man…was he…?" Will spoke, not really being able to finish.

"No," Rose said, shaking her head. "That was not my…my Master," she whispered.

"Then that means… Wait, he was going to take you back to that?" Will asked, slight anger showing through his voice.

"Yes," Rose nodded, answering his question. "Now you know the truth," she said, her face becoming covered by her other hand as well then.

For a moment Will looked over at John for an answer, but John shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what to do. He had comforted his wife before, but this was a whole other issue entirely. After several minutes though, John left, the calling of his eldest son Wulf catching his attention.

"Rose?" Will whispered, getting off the stool and coming to sit beside her on the bed of hay.

She didn't say anything to him though as he sat there, hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder. This was something that he wasn't used to. Comforting someone? Had he ever truly done that before? Other than his mother, no. Although, keeping that thought in mind, he began rubbing her back softly. Granted, the act was slightly awkward, but it was better than nothing in his opinion.

After a while of doing this though, he noticed that her crying had stopped, her breath evening out considerably. When he moved a bit of hair away from her slender face, he found her to be asleep, her mind finally at peace. This made his lips twitch into a small smile. He was glad that she was able to fall asleep with his help. It also made him feel good inside knowing that he had actually been able to help her.

"Sleep well my lady," he whispered into her ear before standing up and walking out of the hut.

T

When she woke up the next morning she found Will absent as usual, but she did find something in his place laying next to her head. In his place was a beautiful red rose, nestled in a deep blue scarf. Much like she had done for Will, sewing his name on a small piece of cloth, he had done the same.

"Will…" she whispered, a small smile forming on her lips.

After picking up the flower, she sat it in her lap, before taking the scarf into her hands. She stared down at it for a few moments, running her fingers over it. Granted, it was patch work and slightly sloppy on some spots, it was still beautiful in her mind. Not to mention, it was a rather warm scarf as well.

When she stepped out of the hut, scarf wrapped loosely around her neck a few times, she found that it was well into the afternoon.

"Great, I overslept," she muttered with distaste, looking around her for the others.

She was surprised though when she found herself alone in the camp, not a soul in sight save for a rabbit nibbling on a blade of grass. It was definitely an oddity in her mind, for as long as she'd been there, never once had the camp been completely empty.

A few hours later though, she found herself surrounded by her friends, Will included. The other thing she noticed was the three strangers that accompanied them. One in particular was a dark skinned foreigner. She'd never seen a man such as him before and it intrigued her to no end.

"Will," Rose called, running up to him. "Who are those people?" she asked curiously.

"Nobody," he said curtly before walking away from her.

She was confused as he walked away, leaving her standing there dumbfounded.

"That's rude you know?" she called after him, but it did her no good.

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, brushing it out of the way in frustration. Will had never really acted that way before and she was wondering the reason for it. Thinking this over for a moment she went to John to ask the problem, hoping to get an answer from him hopefully.

"John?" she called, running up to him.

"What is it little lady?" he asked, a smile on his face.

She was about to ask him about Will, but that's when she noticed he was a bit wet.

"What happened to you?" she questioned, looking him up and down for a moment.

"Well, you see, that would be from our guest, Robin of Locksley," he told her.

"Robin of Locksley? Who is that?" she asked, her voice soft as usual.

"You should have been there m'lady," Much said.

"Yes, you should have," Bull chimed in happily with a light chuckle. "John got tricked by him he did," Bull said, gesturing to the guest that had an interesting looking gold medallion hanging around his neck.

"I gave him a good walloping though I did," John told her.

"John, what's wrong with Will?" she asked curiously as she got back on track.

"Heck if I know. He's been like that since the fight at the river," John said honestly.

She nodded her head before turning around. A moment later, she turned toward Much.

"Much, would you mind accompanying me to get some food to eat?" she asked, gesturing toward the forest.

"Of course m'lady," he said happily, jogging forward to meet her steps.

Before heading out to the river for food, she stopped by the hut, grabbing a cloth net that she had made to help catch fish. After that, they made their way to the river together, scrounging up as much as they could. After a hour or two of this, they decided to call it a quits, since it was getting late and hard to see. This left them in a slight rut as they made their way back to the camp in the dark, finding a nice fire waiting for them upon arrive. Rose was thankful for this as she shivered from the cold, keeping one of her hands wound around her scarf.

"If you will take the bucket m'lady, then I shall fetch you a blanket," Much said, holding the bucket of fish out to her.

With a nod she accepted the bucket, slowly making her way over to the fire with it. Everyone turned toward her as she got closer, looking curiously at what she had in her hands.

"What you got there little lady?" John asked from his spot up in a tree.

"Fish," she said happily, earning a cheer from those around her.

"You're a mighty right angel, ya know that?" John chuckled.

"No I'm not…" she said, setting down the bucket by the fire. "We just got lucky this time. Besides, I nearly broke my net and as you can clearly see, I'm still wet," she told them.

"Stop being so modest lass," one of the men told her.

She just ignored it as she set some of the fish up on sticks to cook. She found it rather annoying as she continued to shiver, though savoring the bit of warmth that she received from the fire in front of her. She was thankful though when Much finally brought her a blanket, taking it and wrapping it around herself tightly. She sighed in relief at the warmth that it gave her. Soon after, John began introducing everyone to the new comers.

"Because you're short?" Robin asked.

"No, it's because I'm so long!" Bull laughed, making a gesture to his lower region, before attempting to unbuckle his pants and show the newcomer.

Rose's face blanched as he did this, a look of disgust on her face.

"Bull!" she yelled, catching his attention and stopping him. "Please…" she groaned out with a dreadful frown on her face.

"Sorry my lady," he said, bowing his head before sitting back down.

"That there is our leading lady, Miss Rose Lockwood," John said with a light chuckle. "Give the man some mead," he told the man beside Robin. "Now, I made that myself," he told him, watching as Robin took a drink.

"I knew your family as a boy," Robin said, turning to Rose.

Upon hearing his words, her whole body went rigid, leaving Will and John a bit on edge. They knew that she was uncomfortable talking about her family, but no one else did.

"That's none of my concern," she whispered softly, standing up and picking up one of the fish that she had placed on a stick.

"They were good people," he said, making her flinch, her hand curling up in anger.

"You know not of what you speak," she spat in anger, taking her fish and walking away toward Will, sitting down by his feet.

Everyone around her gave her a strange look, save for three people, Will, John, and the dark skinned stranger. From there on, she paid no attention to what was spoken as she nibbled away at her fish, before offering Will some of it. She did catch Robin mentioning something about English hospitality though.

"Later," he told her quietly, listening further to their conversation.

The mood changed when Will accused Robin's father of being a devil worshiper. They argued for a brief moment, before Robin said that he was now an outlaw like all of them.

"You are nothing like us!" Will said with distaste. "I'm going back to the hut," Will muttered quietly to Rose as he pushed off of the tree and strode off, walking far away from everyone.

"That there's Will Scarlet. Don't take no notice to him, he's full of piss and wind," John said.

"John!" Rose scolded, standing up her own self. "He's your friend," she said, looking around at everyone. "He's allowed to have his own opinion, just like me, just like you, and…just like him," she said grudgingly as she pointed to Robin, before turning and running after Will.

Once she had the hut in sight, she found Will standing outside waiting for her. She then ran up to him, fish in her hands.

"Are you alright?" she asked, looking up at him with curious eyes.

"Better yet, are you?" he asked, brushing off her question and watching as her facial expression changed.

"I'm fine," she whispered, stepping inside with him and going to sit down on the bed of hay.

"You don't look fine," he said, kneeling down in front of her.

She just sighed, placing her head down and running a hand through her hair. It was obvious that she couldn't hide how she truly felt from him.

"He has no right…" she began, her eyes slowly welling up. "He had no right saying what he did!" she shouted in anger. "He…he had no business in the matter!" she cried, dropping the fish onto the hay and crying. "No right…" she whimpered.

It hurt Will to see her like that, hurting on the inside because of someone's stupidity. That merely gave him another reason to resent Locksley. Locksley would pay for hurting such a precious flower.

"Rose, you're freezing," Will said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, the dampness of her shirt meeting his skin.

"I know that," she said with a sniffle, shaking off the rest of her sobs. "But as you can see, I've nothing else to wear," she said, gesturing around her for emphasis.

"But I do," Will told her, going over to a small trunk and pulling out an old pair of pants and a shirt. "This, this should work for a while," he said, going and handing them to her.

"Will?" she questioned curiously.

"Just use them, okay?" he asked, placing a small smile on his face.

So with a sigh she nodded, eyeing the clothes for a moment, before turning back to him for a moment.

"Um, turn around please?" she asked, her face going slightly red for a moment.

"Oh, right, sorry," he chuckled, turning his back to her.

From there, she began removing her damp clothes, letting them drop down to the bed of hay. Again, she glanced at him, making sure that he wasn't looking. Satisfied with the answer, she proceeded to put the clothes on that he had given her, first pulling the long pants on over her shaky legs. She was very happy that he had placed a belt with them, quickly putting it in place. Next, she looked down at the shirt, her back to him at this point. Quickly, she slid it on over her head, pulling at the sleeves to get them in place.

"Okay, you can turn around now," she said to him, a smile forming on her face to look at him.

"Much better," he said with a smile of his own.

**I hope everyone liked this chapter? Please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE. I'm also always open to ideas. Also, don't forget to check out my other stories that might interest you like stories for FINAL FANTASY 7, ESCAFLOWNE, FRUITS BASKET, X-MEN (GAMBIT), LABYRINTH and MORE! :)**


	4. White Horse

**Scarlet Rose**

**White Horse**

**Chapter 4**

The following morning, Rose awoke to a surprise. When she opened her eyes, she found Will laying next to her on the bed of hay. The most surprising part was that she had her arms wrapped around his left one.

"Oh my…" she whispered, heat rushing to her face in embarrassment.

Quickly, she let go of his arm, carefully pulling away from him. She had to admit though, he looked peaceful when he slept.

Not wanting to hang around much longer, she exited the hut, walking out into the morning sun.

"Ah, what a wonderful morning," Rose said with a smile on her face.

"Good morning Lady Rose," Wulf greeted as he walked up to her, a freshly caught rabbit in his hands.

"Good morning to you too Wulf. Would you mind going down to the river with me to fetch some water for the morning?" she asked.

"Sure, I'd love to. Besides, there's nothing else to do right now," he told her, pausing for a moment as he looked down at the rabbit in his hands. "I'll be right back," he said, running off to place his rabbit in a cage for later.

While Rose waited for him, she went and grabbed a few buckets, while also making sure to grab her net.

"I'm ready!" Wulf called as he ran back up to her, jumping up and down a couple of times of when he saw her makeshift net. "Are going to catch some fish today Lady Rose?" he asked.

"Well, we're going to try Sir Wulf," she said with a small laugh. In fact, would you like to carry it?" she asked, watching his eyes light up at the offer.

"Yes Ma'ma," he answered, bowing his head for a moment before taking the net from her, a large smile on his face as he ran toward the river.

"Wulf, wait for me!" Rose called after him as she laughed.

T

"Hey, John, have you seen Rose?" Will asked as he stretched his arms above his head, letting out a long yawn.

"Last I saw, she was headin' down to the river with Wulf," John told him as he sat up in his tree chewing on a piece of dried deer meat.

"What for?" Will asked curiously.

"Water and fish I think," John said, before taking another bite.

Will stood there for a moment, before nodding his head and walking off. He figured that maybe he could help by carrying one of her water buckets back, that, and he'd like to watch her try to catch another fish.

T

"Are you sure you have it okay Wulf?" Rose asked as she tried to contain a laugh.

Unfortunately, her net had finally decided to brake, the cloth washing away down river. Wulf had apologized for it numerous times, but Rose assured him that it was alright. So now, she stood off to the side watching as he tried to catch a fish with his hands, but it kept getting away from him.

"Here, let me try and help," she said, rolling her pant legs up above her knees and stepping out into the river.

From there, they tried their best to work together and catch the fish. After about 10 more attempts to catch it, Rose finally got it in her hands.

"I got, we finally got it!" she shouted happily, holding it up in front of her.

Although, this only resulted in her getting smacked in the face by it, causing her to fall backwards into the river. When she fell though, she let go of it and luckly, Wulf managed to grab it.

"Are you alright Lady Rose?" Wulf asked.

She answered his question by sitting up and spitting water out of her mouth.

"I hate fish," she muttered, only to receive the untimely sound of clapping.

"Well done, well done," came Will's voice as he walked through the trees and into their line of sight.

Rose's face went red in embarrassment when she saw him, seeing as he was enjoying it all.

"I-it's not my fault," she exclaimed, "I slipped," she added.

"Of course you did," he said, humoring her with a laugh. "Now, why don't we try catching them the _proper_ way and try with three people?" Will suggested, leaning down and holding his hand out to the woman in front of him.

Rose stared at him for a moment before reaching out and taking his hand, allowing him to pull her up beside him. He chuckled once more before glancing at Wulf, the fish still held tightly in his arms.

T

Once they were done, they had caught at least a dozen fish. Although, Will's hair was a bit wet on the trip back as a result of Rose tossing water at him for some of his silly, yet playful comments toward her. Altogether, they carried four buckets of water and a few slender sticks for which they squerred the fish on. Rose had insisted on carrying two of the buckets, while Will and Wulf held one each along with the fish. Although, it soon became apparent to Will the strain that it was putting on her muscles and shoulder.

"That's it, give me that," Will said, taking one of the buckets from Rose before she could stop him.

"Will, I'm more than capable of carrying these," she began.

"Yes, if you want to tear your shoulder up that is," he countered, walking ahead of her a bit as she tried to protest.

"Will," she whined, picking up her pace a bit more so that she could walk beside him.

"I'm not giving it back," he chuckled. "Now, stop being so stubborn."

"I'm not a child Will!" she exclaimed.

"And yet, you're acting like one right now," he purposely teased.

Rose just groaned at his comment, picking up her pace even more to get ahead of him.

"Hey, wait! I was just kidding!" he called after her, trying to catch up.

Rose didn't stop for him though and just kept walking ahead of him, completely set on getting back to the campsite to fix food for everyone. They had a lot of people to feed and she was adamant on giving them at least a half way decent meal if she could.

"Rose, wait!" he called out once more, but it was no use, she simply wouldn't listen to him.

About 15 minutes later, they arrived at the campsite. Some people were just getting back from an earlier sermon at the church. Others still had yet to arrive as they were likely trying to get back with some food. Rose went straight to preparing food though as she grabbed a small knife from the hut, the knife just so happening to belong to Will since she had none of her own to use.

"Rose, will you please talk to me? I'm sorry if I offended you, I didn't mean to," Will said, crouching down beside her as she cut into one of the fish.

When she didn't listen, he took hold of the knife, gripping her hand in his.

"Will…" she whispered, finally bringing her eyes to look at him.

"I'm sorry," he said firmly, staring her straight in the eyes.

Slowly, she nodded her head, taking in his apology. She sat there for a moment silently without any words, Will doing the very same thing.

"Will?" she spoke quietly, looking down at her slightly bloody hand.

"Yes?" he responded, waiting for her to continue.

"Just promise me one thing?" she breathed out, watching him nod his head. "Never call me a child?" she whispered.

Will sat there for a moment, just taking in her request. It was fairly simple and to the point, but he still didn't know what the issue with it was. Nonetheless, he nodded his head to her request, promising never to call her a child again.

"I promise my lady," he said honestly, letting go of her hand a moment later, even though he didn't exactly want to.

No, he just wanted her to sit there with him for a bit longer. He was surprised though that she never got up after he complied with her question. The moment was soon ruined though when the sound of hooves met their ear, soon accompanied by the sight of Robin riding in on a white horse and Azeem yelling for water.

"Oh bloody hell!" Will groaned as he got up and walked toward Robin.

Rose got up as well, following behind Will as he strode forward at a quick pace. Rose's mouth watered slightly when she saw Robin dumping fresh loafs of bread out onto the ground. Quickly, she ran forward, scooping one up into her arms. She turned to smile at Will, but frowned at the look on his face.

"Wonderful, you've stolen the sheriff's horse?" Will asked incredulously, following behind Robin as he jumped up on a fallen tree and then back down.

"You've stirred up a bloody hornet's nest now," John said in annoyance as he walked around the uprooted section of one of the trees, coming to stand before Robin.

"Are you afraid John?" Robin asked curiously, kneeling down in front of the blind man known as Dunkin, placing a large round loaf of bread into his hands.

"A little bit," he replied honestly.

"Well, so is the sheriff. Today I gave him a sting he shall not forget,"

"Fool, you've started a war!" Will exclaimed.

"We're already at war," Robin told him as he walked away a bit. "And I say we strike back at the very man that takes our homes and would hunt our children," he said as he pointed to Wulf for emphasis.

At this point, Rose came to stand beside Will on top of the fallen tree, the bread still in her arms. She watched as John gave Robin a smug look.

"Plannin' on joinin' us then matey?" he asked, leaning against his wooden staff.

"No, to lead you," Robin said, turning and walking off quickly.

"To…lead us?" Rose whispered curiously as she looked to Will for some sort of answer.

"He's going to get us killed!" Will exclaimed, his hands curling into fists.

"Will?" Rose whispered, placing a hand on his arm.

She felt his muscles tighten at touch, flinch ever so slightly as he pulled away from her. He caught himself though as he did this, quickly apologizing to her. She could understand where he was coming from though. They lived simple lives and wished to keep it that way, avoiding unnecessary problems from the outside. The last thing that Rose wanting was to be involved in fighting or faced with another arrow being aimed at her.

"Come on Will, let's just go sit down and eat," Rose said, lightly grabbing hold of his arm and tugging him in the other direction.

**Okay, there's chapter 4. I hope that everyone liked it? Please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts and ideas. I love hearing everyone's opinions on my stories. Also, remember to check out my other stories for FINAL FANTASY 7 (VINCENT & CHAOS), X-MEN (GAMBIT), LABYRINTH (JARETH), FULL METAL ALCHEMIST (SCAR), FRUITS BASKET (KYO), PRINCE OF TENNIS (KAIDOH) and MORE! Thanks everyone! :)**


	5. Concussion

**Scarlet Rose**

**Concussion**

**Chapter 5**

The following morning, Rose woke up early, stretching her arms above her head as usual. Will was still asleep, laying on the bed of hay a few feet away from her with his back to her. She suspected that he had turned in his sleep some time during the night. She also knew that he likely wouldn't be awake for at least another hour or two. With that in mind, she left the camp, heading into John's former village to see if anyone would be willing to trade something for her left over fish from the previous night. Perhaps for a few apples and extra sewing thread maybe. She was also glad for the fact that she had a few coins on her person. She wasn't there for very long though before all hell broke loose. One moment everything was quiet and peaceful, the next, Nottingham soldiers were running around.

"Burn it down, burn everything down," one man said.

Screaming broke out as houses were set on fire, families still inside with children.

"Stop it!" Rose shouted, running forward toward one man as he set another home on fire.

Before she could do anything, one man came riding forward, knocking her in the head with his weapon on purpose.

"Know your place peasant," he spat, watching her fall to the ground clutching her head.

"Bastard!" she cried, begging her eyes to see straight as she laid there, mounds of hay burning up around her in the flames.

She could still hear the cries of those around her as they tried to escape their homes without being attacked, trying their best to grab what they could before it could be burn by those horrid demons that called themselves men. She could hear other people shouting for them to stop, but it did them little good. At this point, Rose wished terribly that she had stayed at the camp or perhaps went back to sleep, waiting for Will to wake her from her sleep. No, she was here, burning and inhaling the smoke around her. Her mind was in shambles as she laid there, her eyes unfocused and wandering through the commotion around her.

"Please, sir, leave us the sow?" one man cried as the men stole their livestock.

From there, the rest of the distant voices meshed together in her mind, only the closest making any sense to her.

"Uh…my head," Rose groaned, trying to sit up on the ground.

Her balance was knocked off place as she sat there trying to process things, the voices around her increasing her growing headache.

"Are you alright Miss?" one of the village men asked, kneeling down in front of Rose to inspect her.

"Mmm…" she groaned in pain, placing her head back down on the ground, trying to find some sort of comfort.

The man watched her for a moment longer, before carefully sliding a hand behind her back, another sweeping beneath her legs as he picked her up in his arms.

Again, she let out another groan as she felt the pain in the back of her skull pounding away at her nerves. Unable to do much else, all that she could do was rest in the man's arms as he carried her away from the burning huts and soldiers. He merely followed the rest of his people as they started to make their way away from the village that was now in ruins.

Most were angry as they walked forward, hearing part of the conversation between the old man and the sheriff's cousin, Guy of Gisborne. The person that they now seek was none other than Robin of Locksley himself, otherwise known as Robin of the hood or just Robin Hood.

Rose on the other hand still wanted nothing to do with the man. Although, she was not going to seek vengeance against him as my of the people around her were likely going to do. All that she wanted was to get back to the camp and rest, hopefully, getting rid of the horrendous headache that raged through her. She had no doubt in her mind that Will would lash out at him for what had happened though. She was also aware that he was slightly protective of her, giving him just another reason to berate Locksley.

T

Will was sat against a tree, knife in hand as he widdled away at a piece of wood, pealing away at its layers with the knife. It was to be used as a stake for the fish that they would catch in the following days. He was nearly done with it too when something caught his eye.

In the distance he could see people making their way to the camp, village people to be exact. As he stood up and walked toward them, he began to notice the damage that he been done, quickly running forward. It was then that he noticed a man in the crowd carrying a small woman with long dark hair. His eyes slowly widened when he realized who it was, the scarf around her neck proof of who she was.

"Rose!" he exclaimed, running toward the man that carried her. "Rose!" he called out as he came to stand before the man, taking her from his arms and falling to his knees. "Rose, what happened to you?" he asked, his voice giving away his frantic nerves and worry.

"We were…attacked by Nottingham's men," she told him, groaning at the pain in her head, her hand slowly raising to touch it.

Will stopped her though, bringing his own hand behind her head and touching it gently. He watched as she winced, before he pulled his hand away. Looking down at his hand, he found a bit of blood coating his fingertips.

"Rose," his brows furrowed, before he quickly became angry, listening to the conversation around him.

Carefully, he stood up with Rose, placing one of her arms over his shoulders and holding onto that hand. His other arm went around her waist, keeping her up as they walked. He then pointed toward Robin as one of the men asked him who and where Robin Hood was. Many more people quickly became angry as they marched toward him, Will being one of them as he kept Rose close at his side.

"I'm sorry Will...I shouldn't have left," she whispered, only to have him hush her softly as they continued to walk forward.

"Look! Look what they've done!" one man shouted toward Robin as he turned his son's head to side, showing where the boy had been hit and injured by Nottingham's men.

They all watched as Azeem said something to Robin, before jumping down from the large fallen tree and disappearing somewhere.

"You've brought this upon us Locksley," Will accused as he pointed angrily at the man. "Look what they did to Rose!" he said, his voice raising dangerously as he pointed to the back of her hand, before showing the man his bloodied fingertips.

"Will," Rose groaned, faltering in her footwork for a moment.

"Shush…" he cooed softly trying to help put her at ease. "I hear that the sheriff now values your head at 500 gold pieces," Will announced as he looked at Robin. "I say we turn in," he voiced, many of the men agreed with him, voicing their own agreement on the matter.

"Do you really think that after I am gone, he will simply give everything back?" Robin asked, his voice almost making it sound like a rhetorical question, but it wasn't.

"No, but he'll give us the reward and our pardons," Will said, the men around him making sounds of agreement.

"Wrong," Robin interjected, his voice raising a bit and making a few people take a step back. "He'll stretch your necks one by one," he said as he jumped down from the fallen tree, making gestures with his bow.

"Then what would you have us do? Fight men on horseback with rocks and our bare hands?" Will proclaimed in annoyance, again, those around him making sound of agreement.

"If need be," Robin said, walking toward Will as he continued speaking, "but with the one thing that escapes you Will, courage," he said, before turning his back to Will and slowly walking away from him.

Will didn't like this very much though, anger quickly spreading through him like wild fire. Within seconds, he had let go of Rose, his hands bringing out one of his throwing knives as he intended and planting it in Robin's back.

"Look out!" Wulf called.

The moment those words left Wulf's lips, Robin was turned around, an arrow knotched in his bow. It was then sent flying through the air and shot right through Will's hand, causing him to drop his knife and cradle his injured hand.

"Will," Rose gasped, hearing the gasps from everyone else, seeing the arrow in Will's hand.

Will just looked around him as he bit back tears of pain before quickly running off, the crowd splitting and separating for him.

"Will…" Rose whispered, leaning down and carefully picking up his knife from the ground.

She then looked at Robin, watching as he walked forward and patted Wulf on the head, thanking him for his help. She could barely stand to look at the man as he bit back her own tears of sadness, quickly turning and making her way after Will. Before she went after him though, she stopped inside of their hut, picking up bandages. From there she left the camp, heading toward the river where she knew that he would be, sadness consuming her soul.

When she finally found him, it was as she expected. She found him sitting there by the river clutching his right hand painfully. What she didn't expect were the tears that were in his eyes. She'd never seen a man cry before for it was looked down upon, but she didn't see it as such. In fact, in her eyes it meant that he was human.

"Will?" Rose called out quietly as she announced her presence to him.

She saw him flinch, quickly whipping away him tears in shame. This made her frown. There was no reason for him to be ashamed of his tears. He was in pain and it was obvious.

"Oh, Will…" she whispered as she stepped forward, falling to her knees in front of him.

There, she cried, her own tears falling from her eyes as she looked at him.

"Rose?" he spoke, his brows furrowing as she wrapped her arm around him in an embrace.

Honestly, he didn't mind as much, but he had an arrow in his hand preventing him from returning it properly. Seeing her like that though sparked something inside of him, making him want to hold her close to him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, pulling back and taking his hand in hers.

She watched as he winced, quickly bowing her head in apology. A moment later, their eyes connected, almost seeming to read one another.

"Would you like me to help you remove it?" she asked slowly, taking in the sight of his injured hand further.

He gave her a small nod, swallowing for a moment as his hand shook a bit.

She noticed the shaking of his hand and placed it in her lap gingerly, stroking the back of it softly with her fingertips as she looked down at it. She looked up at him for a moment, before bringing out his knife that he had dropped earlier. She carefully cut away the string that was wrapped around the top of the arrow, keeping the pointed metal in place. Once she had it unwrapped, she pulled it off the top of the arrow and placed it beside her. She then looked at him for a moment, wondering how to take care of the rest.

"Just pull it out nice and quick," he told her, readying himself for the pain.

With a nod she carefully took hold of his hand with her own, holding it firmly as her other fingers wrapped around the wood of the arrow at the base of his hand. She then counted to three in her head, before closing her eyes and pulling it out quickly in one fluid motion. Immediately after, he let out a cry of pain, taking hold of his wrist and bringing it toward his chest.

"I'm sorry," Rose apologized quickly, her head hung.

"No…it's alright," he said, gritting his teeth for a few more moments before allowing the grip on his wrist to loosen. "Thank you."

Upon hearing this she turned to look at him, staring him in the face for a moment. There was just something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on, something that always surprised her, but she didn't know why.

"Here," she offered her hand to him, watching as he placed his in hers a moment later.

He watched her carefully as she took his hand, placing it in the river for a moment, a hiss of pain involuntarily escaping his lips. After that, she pulled it to her lap, before pulling out a roll of bandages from behind her.

It was quiet as they sat there, his hand in her lap as she wrapped it, being careful not to cause him too much pain. Once she was done with it though she smiled at him making the corners of his lips twitch slightly. It was short lived though when Will remembered the condition that Rose was in.

"Come here and turn around," Will said, gesturing in front of him.

Rose merely nodded her head, obeying him as she sat before him, her back to him as she sat there quietly. She winced though when she felt him moving slowly through the hair on the back of her head. He was obviously upset though when he saw that the blood still flowed slowly, but freely from the back of her skull. Indeed, she had been hit hard and it was still bothering her, but she had no idea how bad it truly was. This is why she let Will take care of it, knowing full well that he would.

"What did they hit you with?" Will asked quietly, stealing the remains of the bandages as he began wrapping her head.

"I don't know," she answered, her left hand resting on his left knee as she sat there.

Will didn't mind though as he didn't even bother commenting on the placement of her hand. He just sat there trying to finish wrapping her head. What he didn't catch though was how tired and out of place Rose truly was at the moment. In fact, she felt like simply closing her eyes and falling asleep against him. After all, he was definitely warm enough to do so.

"Rose?" Will's voice sounded, drawing her attention for a moment.

"Hm?" she breathed out, her eyes blinking a few times.

"Are you alright?" he asked, finishing up as he tied the bandages at the back of her head.

"Yes, I'm just tired," she whispered, already starting to drift off as she allowed herself to lean back against Will's chest.

Her head was still pounding as she sat there, her head leaning back a bit to rest on Will's shoulder.

"Rose," Will spoke firm, causing her to look at him.

That was when he noticed that her eyes were unfocused, her vision going in and out as she looked at him. He took hold of her face with his good hand, before turning her head to look at him better. After looking her over he found his assumption was right. She had what people would call a concussion. Although, he had no clue as to how severe it might possibly be.

"Let's get you back to the hut," he said softly, knowing the still growing headache that she must be feeling.

**Okay everyone, that was chapter 5. I hope that everyone enjoyed it? Please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me? I love hearing what people have to say. Also, remember to check out my PROFILE for my other STORIES. I'm sure that you'll find at least one that's to your liking. Thanks everyone. :)**


	6. Family

**Scarlet Rose**

**Family**

**Chapter 6**

A couple days later Rose finally awoke, waking up with her head in Will's lap and a cool cloth on her forehead.

"Will…?" Rose whispered, her eyes looking upward into the familiar blue green orbs that were Will's eyes.

"Hello my lady," Will greeted with a smile on his face.

"What happened?" she asked, slowly sitting up, the cloth dropping onto her lap.

"Well, you pretty much blacked out," he explained, putting it was simply as he could.

"Wonderful…" Rose groaned out, clutching her head in her hand. "How's your hand?" she asked, turning her eyes toward his right hand.

He sat there for a moment, looking down at it before deciding to speak.

"It's better thanks to you," he said honestly while giving a slight shrug of the shoulders.

"Will?" Rose whispered, laying her head back down on his leg tiredly.

"Hm?"

"How bad is it?" she asked, referring to the people.

It was quiet for a moment as they sat there, no one speaking a word. In all truth, things were terrible. So many were left without homes, being forced now to live in the forest as outlaws with the rest of them. Not to mention, Nottingham's men had taken nearly everything the people had had, either that or they burned it all.

"Well, I'll say one thing for sure, the space around here has gotten a lot smaller," he said quietly, gesturing toward outside.

T

Throughout the day, Rose went from place to place helping out. There were so many things to be done and so many people to help that it was hard to keep up. Despite that though, she still kept trying, even when she became tired and slightly dizzy.

The whole time, she helped with setting up huts and lean-tos, getting things situated so that they would have places to sleep when night came. Granted, she knew that not everyone would have a hut by day's end, but she was still trying her best with the time and materials that they had available. She'd also been going back and forth from the camp and the river, filling pails full of drinking water with Wulf and others. By the time that evening came around, her feet were aching and sore, not yet having time to make herself a proper pair of shoes. She tried her best to ignore it though, taking on the role of cooking for so many people.

Normally, many people would have made their own food given the increase in numbers, but given the situation at hand it wasn't really an option. So being the person she was, she took on the job of feeding the camp that night, using whatever people could offer her to put together a well placed meal.

The meal itself was placed on several fires, the sheer amount too large for a single gleaming flame. She didn't mind though and actually enjoyed helping everyone out. They were in need and she would be there to help them, to show them a smile to help pull them out of the gloomy darkness of doubt. She wasn't doing this for Robin though, she was doing it for the people because she knew that they needed it more than ever at the moment.

"Can I help?" came the soft questioning voice of a little girl.

Looking down, Rose gave her a smile. It was Fanny's little girl and she was no more 8 or 9 years of age, her long wavy, slight curly brown hair pulled behind her with a bit resting on her shoulder. Audrey was her name, so innocent and untainted by society, happy and content with her family. In a way, Rose was glad that the child was there in the camp instead of in the outside world. The camp was so much safer for a child such as her.

"You know what? That sounds like a wonderful idea," Rose said with a smile, watching as the child's face lit up. "Now, what would you like to do first Audrey?" Rose asked, smiling down at the child.

"Can I stir?" Audrey asked, slight hesitation in her voice.

"Of course you can my dear," Rose nodded, a kind and warm smile still adorning her graceful face.

Audrey let out a small cheer of happiness as she ran over to the large pot, grabbing hold of the long handmade wooden spoon and stirring with all her might. It was truly a sight to see as Rose stood there watching the young girl, silently wishing to herself that she could have been that happy as a child, that she could have had a family to love and take care of her.

"She's so lucky…" Rose whispered, not noticing as someone came up behind her.

"Why do you say that?" came a male's voice, the voice belonging to none other than Will Scarlet himself.

At the sudden sound of his voice, Rose jumped, quickly whirling around to face him.

"Will," she breathed, a hand over her heart. "You scared me," she said, trying to calm her breathing down a bit.

"My apologies Rose, I did not mean to scare you," he assured her, watching as she turned back around toward the food. "Now, tell me why Audrey is so lucky?" Will questioned as he came to stand behind Rose.

She didn't say a word though as she looked down at the food, the meat slowly cooking away in the pot.

"Rose?" Will inquired, trying to get her attention.

"It's nothing Will," she said quietly.

"Rose," Will said more firmly, placing his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him.

After a moment she let out a sigh, her eyes turning from his for a moment, before turning back to the pot.

"I thought the answer to that would be obvious for you," she said quietly, eyes glancing over at Audrey for a moment. "She has a family, people that love her. She has a quiet, normal life, one with no worries," she spoke with a slightly distant voice.

"Rose," Will said with a sigh, before gently turning her around to face him. "You have a family Rose," he told her, watching as she opened her mouth to protest.

"Yeah, but they-" she was interrupted as Will placed a finger to her lips.

"Let me finish," he told her, slowly removing his finger. "You have a family with _us_. With Much, Bull, John, me… We all love you Rose, everyone here in this camp. To us, you are family," he said, finishing his little speech.

For a few moments it was silent, leaving Will to worry if he had overstepped things a bit or not. By looking upon her face he was still unsure if he had done the right thing.

"Rose?" he spoke hesitantly, bringing his fingertips to the side of her cheek, barely grazing the skin.

She looked like she would cry any moment, her hand shaking as she stood there trying her best to avoid his gaze. After a moment longer, she walked away, keeping a slow pace as she headed toward their hut. Seeing this, Will followed her. It was obvious that she wasn't trying to ditch him or run away from him given the speed of her steps. No, she wanted him to follow her, obviously being uncomfortable in her situation with so many people standing around her.

Once inside the hut, Will closed the door, coming to stand beside Rose.

"Rose?" he whispered softly, carefully turning her around to face him.

This time she looked up at him, a few tears welling up in her forest eyes as she gazed upon him.

"Do you…do you really mean it?" she whispered, trying to bite back a few tears. "Do you really mean what you said?" she asked, bringing her eyes to his.

She then watched as he nodded his head, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders.

"Every word of it," he promised, watching her face closely.

In only a matter of second she had thrown her arms around his neck, hugging him as tears started to fall. All that he could do in response was wrap his arms around her slim waist, holding her against him as she cried. After a minute or two though, they were both on their knees, hers already giving out on her.

"Besides, if we didn't care, do you really think you'd be here?" Will asked, earning a curt punch in the shoulder.

"Jerk," she whispered, standing up as she pushed away from him.

When he looked up, he expected to see an angry look on her face after punching him in the shoulder, but instead he found a faint smile curling onto her lips.

"Your sense of humor needs work," Rose said with the faintest laugh in her voice.

With that, they both walked out of the hut, Will's arm over her shoulders as she whipped away her tears on the sleeve of her shirt. When they got close enough to where everyone else was, they got a few strange looks, but ignored them instead. Personally, they didn't care what the others might think. After all, it's not like they were doing anything wrong, so they just left things as they were.

T

"Ya really are a mighty right angel Rose," John said as he started to eat.

"Come now John, we've been over this once before," she groaned in embarrassment.

"Don't you agree maties?" John exclaimed, earning cheers all around them, Rose's face soon turning red in response.

"I say I'm in love," Howl chuckled, earning the same response from a few other men.

"Leave her be," Will warned as walked forward, coming to sit down beside Rose around the large fire.

"What, you gonna do somethin' about it?" one man asked.

"Not like she's yours or nothin'," one laughed.

Listening to all of this sparked a bit of anger in Will, not liking how he was being mocked by a few around him.

"Shut your gob for I bloody shut it for you!" Will spat.

"Will, stop it," Rose said, placing a hand on his shoulder before looking toward everyone else. "All of you stop it. This is supposed to be a peaceful dinner and I don't want it filled with arguing," she said, making things very clear for everyone. "And as far as _I_ go, I belong to no one, so let it be," she warned, looking at everyone for a moment, before going back to eating.

**Okay everyone, that was chapter 6. I hope that everyone enjoyed it? Please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me about your thoughts on this story or if you have ideas. Also, remember to check out my profile for my other stories. I might even start taking requests soon, depending on what they're for, story, character, and content wise. Anyway, MESSAGE and REVIEW. Thanks everyone! :)**


	7. Goodnight Rose

**Scarlet Rose**

**Goodnight Rose**

**Chapter 7**

In the coming days, Robin had been teaching many to shoot and use and bow and arrow. Others, were spending their times making the bows and arrows, along with the quivers. Then you had a few that were making swords and arrowheads. They were all working in unison.

Rose wasn't exactly in that great of shape though, waking up the last few nights with nightmares. They weren't your average nightmares though. No, they were of her life with the Baron, her Master. Lately, she'd been dreaming of the torture that the man had put her through, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night. There were a couple of times were it had woken up Will, ,leaving him to sit in confusion as he stared at her scared form. She couldn't lie to him though, slowly coming to tell him part of the truth, but only telling him that it had to do with her past.

As time went by though, people noticed little things with Will and Rose that the two young ones did not. They were growing closer and closer without really even realizing it. In fact, Rose no longer bothered trying to find material to help with her own hut, even as a few of the men were in the process of building her one up in the trees. She knew that they were doing this, but didn't say anything about it.

The two of them were always trying to help each other out with things. Whether it be Will helping Rose to fetch water or catch fish, or Rose keep Will company while on watch duty. It was always something with those two. The two that noticed it the most though were John and Fanny, having been together so long, they knew the signs.

T

As the month ended, Rose was finally left with her own hut, spending the nights alone by herself. She was surprised that it bothered her so much, leaving her with less sleep. She just couldn't seem to get passed the thought of not sharing a hut with Will. She had been doing it for so long that she had grown accustomed to it, and now she was left without that luxury. She missed the feeling of comfort and safety that she felt when sharing a hut with Will. She had been without that feeling of security for years and cherished it when she had found it. Now that she was missing it she was at a loss.

Once again, she had woken up in the middle of the night, heart pounding in her chest. She had no clue why she was being plagued with nightmares, but she knew that she needed to do something, perhaps get some fresh air to clear her head. It was the only thing that she could think of to calm herself. So with that in mind, she left her hut in the trees, quietly walking and sitting down on one of the rope bridges.

Rose had no clue what to do as she sat on the bridge looking down at everything around her. Her mind was in shambles upon replaying the dream in her head. The mere reminder of whips colliding with the skin of her back nearly made her cry out, leaving her to bite her tongue so as not to wake anyone. Rose merely wished to be rid of those dreadful memories.

"What am I going to do," she whispered quietly, looking down at the ground below her.

From where she sat, she could see the other huts, a few with fires still burning just outside of them. She could even see Will's hut off to the edge of the camp, still set away from most. He even had a small fire lit, the flames glowing gently, warmth the cold night air. Rose would have thought that Will would be asleep like so many others, but as she took a closer look, she found that there was a figure sitting by the fire.

T

Will sat outside his hut by the fire, warming his hands as he tried to think. Again, he had been unable to sleep, his mind far too restless for his liking. To him, the hut felt empty and cold. He couldn't seem to understand it. The hut was the same as it always was, nothing had changed since the day he built it. It was still the same small hut, made up of the same walls and roof, even the same dirt floor that he walked on every day. Everything was perfectly fine, that is until a little over a week ago.

Will no longer shared his hut with Rose, seeing how she had her own now, and up in the trees no less. Will no longer woke up to find her near him or went to sleep with her at his side. He was merely left with an emptiness, a particular loneliness that seemed to follow him around.

He remembered how things used to be before Rose came around. Will had felt that same loneliness, merely trying to make up for it with his jokes and goofy antics. He had spent each and every night alone by himself, the cold night air of England biting at his skin. He had merely been content in making trouble for any rich man whom thought to cross through Sherwood Forest.

With a sigh he looked down into the fire, numbly rubbing his hands together as he pictured Rose's face. How he truly missed her company at night. Thinking on that a moment longer, he turned his head upward to the trees where her hut resided. He found himself surprised though when he spotted her sitting outside on the bridge looking in his direction.

"Rose?" Will whispered, standing up and staring at her.

She seemed to be looking right at him as he stood there, his hands hanging by his sides, a knowing gleam in his blue green eyes.

"Rose," he whispered her name once more, shaking his head slightly as he let out a soft chuckle.

He could have sworn that she smiled at him before he walked into his hut, grabbing up a blanket in his arms and walking back out. When he exited though, his brows furrowed in confusion and disappointed as he found no sign of her where she once was.

"Rose…" he groaned quietly, going and sitting back down by the fire, simply tossing the blanket to the ground in frustration.

He ran a hand through his hair as he sat there staring into the fire, the flames warmth trying to coax him forward. He couldn't help, but to let out a sigh as he sat there, his eyes never leaving the brightly glowing fire.

A few minutes later, the sound of softly padded footsteps met his ears with the crackling of dried leaves. Turning around toward the noise, he found Rose standing there awkwardly, a hopeful look in her eyes as she looked toward him. There was also a look of longing accompanying her eyes, her need for the company of her friend.

"Rose," he nearly stuttered as he quickly stood from his spot, eyes slightly widened in surprise.

"Hello Will," she whispered, a small smile gracing her face as she stepped closer.

She had her arms wrapped around herself, shivering slightly from the cold as she came to stand a few feet in front of him. He could even hear the faint chattering of her teeth as she stood there in her night clothes.

"Oh, um, here," Will said quickly, offering her blanket that he been warming by the fire.

She took it graciously, wrapping it around herself and sighing contently at the warmth.

"Come sit," Will said softly, gesturing to the spot beside him as he sat on the ground this time to be closer to the fire, knowing full well that she needed the extra warmth.

She smiled at him as she sat down beside him on the ground, letting out a faint moan of bliss from the heat. It felt so good against her cold skin.

"What are you still doing up?" Will asked curiously, fairly certain that he already knew the answer to his question.

"I…I couldn't sleep," she whispered, hanging her head slightly as she looked down at the fire.

"Another nightmare?" Will asked slowly, turning in his spot a bit to look at her fully.

He watched as her hand shook a bit, though this time it wasn't from the cold.

"Rose?" he called her name quietly, carefully reaching his hand out and placing it on her cheek.

He gently pulled her head up a bit, only to find silent tears falling from her eyes, slowly sliding down her cool pale cheeks.

"What happened?" he asked quietly, bringing his hand back down to rest on her shoulder.

For a moment she seemed to hesitate in her actions before she finally decided to speak.

"I…I can't. Y-you'd never look at me the same way," she whispered, choking slightly on her tears.

"Rose, I'd never think any less of you," Will assured her, pulling her forward slightly to get his point across.

"Promise?" she hesitated.

"I promise Rose…otherwise, you can smack me," he said lightly, the corner of his lip pulling lightly as he tried to make a joke to lighten the mood.

With that she nodded her head slowly, dropping the blanket from her shoulders and turning around. Will was about to say something when she started to take her shirt off, causing his face to go slightly red. She pulled it in front of her to cover her chest, remaining silent. It was then that Will noticed her back, his mouth hanging open slightly as he gazed at her skin.

"Rose…" he breathed, his fingertips coming to brush the back of her skin making her flinch.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Her entire back was covered with scars. Some were discolored, others long, some slightly bumpy. He looked at one in particular that was creamy white, slightly raised above the skin from past infection. It had been cut deep in the skin, leaving a terrible scar behind.

"Is this…" he couldn't manage to finish as he stared at her.

"That's what he did to me," she whispered, her body shaking from the cold that gnawed at her delicate skin.

He could hear the faint sniffle that escaped her lips as she tried to prevent herself from crying again. Her body still shaking as she watched the faint shadows of the fire move out of the corner of her eye. It was obvious that this was tearing at her heart, allowing Will to see something so horrific. She'd been told so many things before, she really didn't know what to believe in anymore. Although, she knew that if there was one person that she could trust above all else, then it was Will. She didn't know why, but she believed him when he promised not to think any less of her, she believed his words and clung to them.

"Rose, put your shirt back on," Will said gently, watching as she obeyed.

After that, he pulled her into his arms, her back against his chest.

"Will?" she whispered in question, confused by his actions as she tried to dry her wet eye.

"Hush," he said quietly, merely keeping her close as they sat there. "Close your eyes for me?" he whispered, pulling the blanket around the to keep her warm.

"I'm afraid," she whimpered, remembering the vivid dream that she had had.

"Just trust me," he told her, pulling her head against his chest, her ear resting over his heart.

He heard her let out a short noise as she sat there resting against him, her muscles relaxing and her mind slowly being put at ease.

"Will…" she whispered quietly, her mind becoming slightly foggy as she sat there with him.

"What is it?" he asked, his eyes turning to look down at her.

He found a faint smile gracing her lips as he looked at her.

"Thank you…for not turning me away," she whispered.

"I'm not as cold hearted and insensitive as some might think Rose," he told her quietly, but found that she was already asleep. "Goodnight…Rose."

**Okay, that was chapter 7 everyone. I hope that everyone enjoyed it. Please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts on this story. I always love hearing from people about what they think. And don't forget to check out my PROFILE for my other stories. Thanks everyone. :)**


	8. His Angel

**Scarlet Rose**

**His Angel**

**Chapter 8**

A couple more weeks went by and the men were becoming more proficient with a bow thanks to Robin's training. Even Rose was able to wield one adequately while under Robin's curious eyes. He was still curious as to why she had wanted to learn the bow, even though many saw no reason for her to be learning it, since there were plenty of men to look after her and protect her. As usual though, Will encouraged her, sending an angry glare at anyone who tried to tell Rose different. He wasn't going to allow anyone to put her down while she was trying hard to make her way among all of the others.

At the same time, Azeem was still working with others on swordsmanship, just as others were still practicing with their bows. It was always interesting to watch them fight one another though, forming one of the very few bits of entertainment that Rose had. Sometimes the children would run by huts with sticks in their hands, pretending to fight one another as if they were in some sort of imaginary battle. The only good thing was that they were now able to take on some of the sheriff's men.

Their first inquiry had been a carriage traveling through Sherwood. A gray haired baron traveling with a young, beautiful maiden. A rain of arrows had shower down on the carriage causing the driver to push the horses further. Rose stifled as laugh as she had watched this, since Wulf had placed hooks on the back of the carriage. She then watched as the driver was sent forward, being dragged away by the racing horses on the ground. From there, they had taken everything that had been placed atop the carriage. Robin himself had stolen the young maiden's ring, complementing her on her beauty and saying that a young maiden of her beauty had no need of such decoration. Rose remembered the smile and blush of the young woman, that, and the baron's red face from pure anger of being robbed.

Their second successful accomplishment had been that with a small church. The sheriff's men tried to take what belonged to the church for the sheriff, while posting a wanted paper for Robin on the church that stated his worth as being 500 gold pieces. The lot of them, the outlaws, they had walked away grinning. The sheriff's men had dropped everything and left, the people around them cheering happily and thanking the man known as Robin Hood for the help that he had given them.

Every incident raised the price on Robin's head. They knew that they were making the sheriff mad, and they enjoyed every minute of it. Even Rose found slight amusement in it as she knew Will did as well. He loved when he had the chance to beat up on or pester the sheriff's men, trying to make their lives a living hell every chance that he got. Although, he normally only joined them when he knew that Rose was accompanying them. After all, Will had to make sure that nothing happened to Rose.

It wasn't too long after the second robbery that Will accompanied Rose. A few men had seen three men entering Sherwood and alerted the other wood's men. Rose had decided to accompany them, not bothering to bring her bow this time since she knew everyone else had them. Not to mention, it was only three men, two soldiers and a baron. She had no need for a weapon. So as a result she followed Robin, hiding behind a tree about three yards away from the one that he sat in. From there they waited til the men rode forward.

Once they were close enough, Robin lowered himself to sit on a thick branch, his bow in hand. Robin merely smiled at the red haired baron as he asked who he was. Robin merely reached out with his bow, hooking it around the strings of the man's coin purse.

"It's a hot day sir, to burden your horse with such a heavy purse," he chuckled, before tossing the purse and his bow. "Catch Rose," he called.

"Got it Robin," Rose said, stepping from behind her tree and catching the purse.

"The sheriff will hear of this!" the man yelled as the wood's men laughed at him.

"I certainly hope so, " Robin said whole heartedly, jumping down from his branch.

It was that moment that Rose turned around properly, smiling at Will as he too left his hiding spot. In doing so though, the Baron got a good look at her face, and she his.

"You!" he shouted in angrily, pointing a finger at her.

Her eyes went wide in fear as she took a step backwards, followed by a second, then a third. She watched fearfully as he rode forward after her, making her turn and run, Will shouting her name. Moments later though, she was on her back, receiving a hard slap to the face as the Baron grabbed hold of her throat.

"You little wretch!" the Baron shouted, hitting her once more.

"Rose!" Will cried, running passed two of his fellow men.

"I should have put you in your place years ago!" the Baron spat angrily, punching her in the face, breaking her slender nose.

Rose gasped in pain, crying out and waiting for him to hit her once more, but he near did. Instead, he was thrown off of her by the John, Will falling to her side moments later.

"Rose," he breathed frantically, pulling her against him to try and hide her from the baron's sight.

She just cried as she sat there in his arms, face buried against his chest as her nose bled painfully.

"You self righteous bastard!" Will spat, slowly standing up as he held onto Rose, feeling as she dug her fingers into the fabric of his shirt.

"James was telling the truth, when he told me you were bunking with a bunch of filthy outlaws," the Baron sneered, eyeing Will as he had his arms wrapped around Rose's shaky form. "So, have you been copping off with this man? Huh, you little tart?"

At his words, Will tensed, itching to hit the man before him.

"You're a bloody little whore, taking the name of a flower, eh? So, how is she in bed then mate?" the Baron asked Will, a cunningly wicked smirk placed on his face as he did so.

That was Will's breaking point though, as he leapt at the Baron, punching him right in the face. He was absolutely livid with rage.

"Don't you dare speak of her in such a way! She's a respectable woman with far better morals than those noble women that you are so fond of," Will growled out before slugging the man in the face once more.

While this was happening, Rose stood with Bull, his arms around her as he tried to keep her standing. When that didn't seem to work, John took over, easily holding her up against him. John then watched with a glare in his eyes as Will hit the Baron again, cheers erupting around him from his comrades as Will defended Rose's honor. After a few more minutes of this though, Robin finally pulled Will off the man, holding him back as Will fought against him.

"That's enough Will. Let's just send him on his way back to the sheriff shall we?" Robin suggested, holding on tightly as Will struggled just a bit more.

"Not until I break his bloody nose!" Will yelled, remembering the sound of Rose's nose being broken by the man before him. "He broke her nose. All I want to do is pay him back," he said bitterly.

"Will, this will solve nothing," Robin told him firmly.

"But it'll sure as hell make me feel better," Will countered, before pulling away from Robin's hold, this time turning toward Rose and John.

He gave the Baron one final look of disgust, before walking over to John, taking Rose gently into his arms.

"It'll be alright," he whispered softly into her ear, carefully scooping her up into his arms and walking off, not once looking back at the lot of them.

After all, he knew that if he chanced another look, then he wouldn't be able to hold himself back. He knew that he'd be all over the Baron once more and that would do Rose no justice. His only regret was not doing more damage to the bloody man, though he hoped that his comrades would do it for him since the Baron had assaulted Rose of all people. Rose in particular since she was a large part of their camp; an important part of their family. Not to mention a loving friend that would do almost anything for them. Yes, Rose was many things to many people in that camp, but also many things to one man in particular. She was becoming something more prominent in Will's life, something for which he didn't quite understand, but at the same time he did. He knew what she was to him, but perhaps he didn't want to say it. Will didn't want to admit it in fear of something going wrong. He cared far too much for the woman that lay in his arms, the angel that trusted him with her very life and current sanity. She was his angel.

**Hello again everyone. I hope that this chapter wasn't too hardcore for everyone? This was a very important chapter in the story, just to let you know. Anyway, please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me? I love hearing what everyone has to say about this story AND what they have to say about this chapter in particular. Also, don't forget to check out my PROFILE for my other stories for which you might find of interest. Currently, there's plenty to look at, even if none of them are finished. Don't worry though, I'll get to them eventually. In fact, this story might be the first one ever to receive the title complete since part of it's going by the story line of the movie. Anyway, thanks for reading everyone! :)**


	9. The Flute

**Scarlet Rose**

**The Flute**

**Chapter 9**

For the first few nights after the incident with the Baron, Rose stayed with Will so that he could watch over her. After Azeem had broke Rose's nose for a second time to fix it, he recommended her being put in someone's care for a period of time to make sure that she was breathing properly at night. Of course Will was the first choice, not willing to take no for an answer either. After all, it wasn't like others hadn't offered, but Will was the one that Rose had chosen and felt most comfortable. Azeem would have watched her himself, but Will insisted, saying he would let him know if any problems occurred.

This particular night though, Rose was curled up in Will's arms, blankets around them as they laid on the bed of hay in his hut. She was sleeping so soundly and the feeling of having Rose in Will's arms made Will smile softly. He was happy to look after her and make her feel safe. After all, once the Baron had finished with her she barely spoke a word, clinging to Will most of the night after Azeem had broken her nose back into place. He merely wished that he could do more for her, but on this particularly cold night, he held her in his arms. He made sure that she was warm enough, not once having a shiver disturbing her sleep.

As Will looked down at his companion, he saw the bruises on her face. They were still a nasty purple color from the Baron's hit. Will hoped though that they would heal soon. After all, Azeem had given Rose a few herbs to ground up and place on the bruises, telling her that it would help them to go away faster. As he thought on the matter, he allowed his hand to trail the side of her face gently, his hand resting on her cheek for a brief moment. As he laid there, he could feel something spark inside him, a warm flame slowly burning bright. This burning feeling was none other than the feeling of love itself. Yes, Will was falling in love with the woman in his arm, the woman that had only been with him for a few months. He was falling in love.

T

A few days later, a majority of the woods men went with Robin to a few villages, taking food and money with them. There, they handed it out to the poor, giving them warm smiles. Rose had gone with them, meaning Will inevitably followed after her to make sure that nothing happened to her.

"God bless Robin Hood," came the voices of a few of the villagers, happy smiles on their faces.

Rose heard this as she handed a small pouch of coins to an older woman, before handing another to a young man. She was mainly in charge of handing out most of the money along with Will, since she had sewn together all of the pouches herself. Robin only saw this as fair for her hard work. It did put a small smile on her face though when she thought about it. As she came to realize, Robin wasn't as bad as she had thought. If only Will would see things the way that she saw them, then perhaps things would work out better. She knew better though, for she knew that Will likely had his reasons for not liking Robin, a few of them likely having to do with her.

"Thank you my lady," a man said, smiling at Rose as she gave him some money.

She loved seeing the happy look on people's faces when they helped them. Rose knew that by doing all of this that it would raise the people's spirits as the sheriff mercilessly took everything away from them with his ungodly taxes.

"God bless ya child, you're an angel," an elder man said as Rose placed a slightly heavier pouch of money into his calloused hands.

"No I'm not," she said gently.

"Stop being so modest Rose," Will said, patting her lightly on the shoulder.

She looked at him for a moment as he did this, a faint blush creeping up onto her cheeks.

"Thank ya, both of ya," the man said, bowing his head graciously as he went over to his family.

"Come on Rose," Will said gently, pulling her with him as they continued to pass out money.

T

The following evening, everyone sat around the fire, while Rose sat up on the bridge looking down at them every so often. She sat there with a wooden flute in her hands, playing with it a bit. Robin had given it to her a few days prior, finding it in some of the stuff that they had taken from the nobles. She had graciously accepted his gift, smiling happily afterward as she thanked him. Truth be told, she had played one when she was younger, one of the few things that she managed to do all of those times that the Baron had locked her up. After all, she had to find something to do to keep herself sane all of those years and playing the flute was one of them.

She sat quietly for a few more moments, before bringing the finely crafted wooden instrument to her lips. She then closed her eyes, letting her fingers do the work as she blew lightly into the instrument. The gentle sound flowed out of it as it reverberated against the inside for a few moments, its soothing sound drifting not only to her ears, but also to those below her. She hadn't even noticed the lack of talk around her as she continued to play, her mind wandering faintly as she did so, and the melody coming from her soul. When the notes got to light though, the sound of someone's voice met her ears.

"Could ya play a bit louder m'lady, please?" one man called up to her, startling her slightly.

"Yes, please Lady Rose," came a few more.

"Maybe dance for a us a bit too?" Howl called half-heartedly.

"You can do it girl," John called with a voice of encouragement.

Rose merely looked down at them all, scanning over their faces quietly. Among them were Robin, Azeem, Much, Bull, John, Howl, Wulf and even Will sat with the large lot of them. There were probably at least 20 of them if not more that were looking up at her hopefully. This number soon increased as others around caught sight of it. When she caught sight of Will's gentle eyes, she knew that she could do it. So, taking in a slow breath, she stood. She stood placing the flute back to her lips and closing her eyes, an enchanting melody slowly pouring out.

The music started out low and seemingly sad at first as it flowed from the flute, slowly echoing around her as it turned into something more meaningful. Little by little she took steps forward across the bridge, her body and limbs stretching in fluid movements like the grace of water itself. The expression on her face was soft and thoughtful, the music almost portraying the words that would be sung with it if she were to sing along with it. It was obvious to those below her that there was a certain amount of longing being portrayed in the sound and as it picked up speed a bit more, she started to twirl slightly, bowing her head every now and then as if she were acting something out in her mind. Soon, it was as if the story of the music had turned into a graceful dance, one in which made Will stand from his spot.

"Never in all my years have I seen such a sight," John said quietly, his voice practically a whisper against the sound that floated around them.

It was true though, he'd never seen anything like it and most everyone in the camp agreed as they all watched her move gracefully atop the bridge between the huts. In fact, Rose seemed to radiate a certain something, a certain essence. Even with the damage that she still adorned on her face and body from the Baron, she still seemed so free as she played and danced. She was so light, like that of a bird, stepping swiftly and gently on the planks of wood that was the bridge. Even in the dark, she had a certain light about her, something that just seemed to make her glow brightly like a precious gleaming star in the sky. She was in every sense of the word an angel, a flower among flowers, a rose.

When Rose finally looked down at the lot of them, she found a few to be asleep. It seemed that her music had quite the effect if played properly. She also noticed John gesturing for her to come down so that they could talk easier. She complied naturally, coming down on the lift that they had invented so that they didn't have to come down the ladders anymore. Although, given her weight, it moved a bit more slowly as it lowered her to the ground where she needed to be.

As she walked forward, she saw the individuals that were asleep. She didn't know all of them of course, but there were a few in particular that she smiled at. Much and Bull were leaned up against each other, snoring lightly as they slept. Then there was Wulf, who rested quietly against his father, his head laying on John's lap as he was curled up slightly. She even noticed off to the side that one man sat against the tree, his wife and child laying there with him, all three of them asleep. Even though it made her smile, there was a small pang in her heart as she looked upon them.

"Ya did a mighty right job ya did Rose," John expressed fondly as he looked over at her before turning his gentle blue eyes down toward his son. "Wulf has been havin' troubles sleepin' of late, but you lulled him right ta sleep ya did," John told her as he patted his son's hair gently as any true loving father would their children.

"If I may my lady, you have a way with music," Azeem said gently, inclining his head respectfully toward her.

"Thank you Azeem," she replied, bowing her own head in thanks at the older man.

"Perhaps you could do this more often Rose, for the children perhaps?" Robin suggested as he looked over to the young boy that rested his head on John's lap.

"Perhaps," she agreed quietly, thinking it over in her head. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. After all, it could be the entertainment for the evening before everyone heads off to bed," she added, smiling faintly at the thought, while at the same time looking over at Much and Bull.

Yes, it would be something that she could do, and she would do it happily for her fellow woods men. After all, it was something that she loved, and now she'd have the opportunity to do it without hiding it. She was very happy at this prospect that she couldn't help but to smile.

"Should we wake Much and Bull?" Rose asked curiously as she looked over at her two sleeping friends.

"Nah, leave 'em sleep. They've been pulling double duty today, no doubt they're exhausted," John told her.

With that, Rose gave a small nod, quickly hurrying over to the ladder.

"I'll be right back," she said as she began climbing the ladder.

The others watched as she made it to the top, walking over to her hut, and going inside. She came back out a minute later with two of her three blankets in her arms. She them came back across the bridge and came down on the lift, making sure to hold on so that she didn't fall. Once she was on the ground again, she stepped toward Much and Bull, kneeling down in front of them as they slept soundly. The others watched her curiously as she placed a blanket over each of her two friend, a quaint little smile on her face as she did so.

"Ya really are an angel Rose, whether ya wanna admit it or not, ya are," John told her as he stood from his spot, picking his son up in his arms and turning around. "I'll see you lot in the mornin'," John said as he walked off to put Wulf to bed.

"I think that we should all be heading off to bed," Robin offered as he stood from his spot, helping his old friend Duncan up from where he sat.

Rose watched as the rest of them stood up as well, dusting their bums off quickly before heading to bed. Of course Much and Bull still sat against each other by the fire asleep, but everyone else left save for Will. He stared at her for a moment, before taking a few steps toward her.

"Where did you learn to play like that?" he asked curiously, referring to her earlier flute playing.

Rose merely gave him a short smile as she turned to look up at the sky, various branches obscuring her view just to spite her. She then turned her head back to Will as he drew closer, a scraping distant look in her eyes coming to meet his own.

"Well, you come to find things to do when you're locked up for days on end, something to keep you sane if even just barely," she murmured quietly.

"The Baron?" Will asked flatly, already knowing the answer, especially when she nodded her head to his obvious question.

"Yes, and on many a long night like this I would play, if not to simply sooth my frazzled spirit," she spoke softly, looking down at the little flute in her hands.

"I'm sorry," Will said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She gave him a slight smile as she stood there, shaking her head slightly.

"It's alright, it's not your fault. Besides, it's in the past now," she told him, but it was obvious that he didn't completely believe her.

In all honesty, Rose didn't quite believe herself either. It was such a simple lie, but a lie nonetheless.

"You know, it's pointless to lie Rose. After all, you're not very good at it," he chided lightly, watching her as a faint chuckle left her lips.

"I never said that I was good at it Will, just like I'm not very good at thievery," she stated blatently, though there was a certain edge to it, but not one that was harsh or mean.

"Then why bother?" Will asked, watching as she simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Why bother with anything really?" she countered, though more in a joking manner, before turning elsewhere.

Will merely pinched the bridge of his nose, before throwing an arm over her shoulders, pulling her toward him.

"Rose, Rose, Rose…what am I going to do with you?" he said jokingly, a quant grin slowly making its way onto his fine features.

"I don't know. What do you _want_ to do with me Mr. Scarlet?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in question.

He grinned at her for a moment, before speaking.

"I can think of a few things," he started, walking back towards his hut with her still under his arm. "Perhaps, hang you upside down by your ankles?" he offered innocently.

"Will!" she snorted, shoving him, only to receive a throaty laugh.

"Fine, fine, I'll let you wake up with the chickens then," he quipped.

"Will!" she exclaimed, running after him as he laughed, making sure to keep a bit of distance between them. "Wait until I get my hands on you," Rose cried, catching up to him as he entered his hut, trapping himself inside.

"Now, Rose, be reasonable," he said with a slight chuckle itching at the back of his throat as he raised his hands defensively.

"I don't think so," Rose said, before tackling him onto the bed of hay.

From there they wrestled around for a minute or two, until Will was on top of her, pinning her hands above her head. They stayed like that for a few moments, staring at each other as they panted slightly from exertion. Will said nothing as his head hovered a few inches above Rose's, his hair falling down around him and tickling the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

Will let his other hand come up to rest on her cheek, his head inching down slightly. He just couldn't resist. He couldn't resist wanting to feel her cheek up on his hand as he stared down at her, his eyes never leaving hers. Rose readied to move her lips to say something, but found that she couldn't as she felt Will's lips upon hers, gently caressing them with their warmth. Slowly, she closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy the kiss. It was nothing like she had ever felt, leaving her stomach twisting in knots. The kiss itself was gentle, so simple, yet so heartfelt at the same time. It also left her with a warm feeling gently spreading through her body. For the first time in her life, Rose felt a sense of true self worth. For the first time, she actually felt like a woman, no longer a child wandering through a dark path in the forest. She was wanted and she kept that thought in mind as he pulled away, breaking the kiss, his eyes lightly misted over. The feeling that enveloped him was so strange. He knew that the feeling was one of longing, though far from lust. No, it wasn't lust, but perhaps love.

**/Think of the song "Everything" by Lifehouse for the sound of her flute playing AND this chapter in general, especially at the end. I was listening to this song while I was writing the chapter and it fit perfectly. I hope that everyone like this chapter. Please REVIEW and MESSAGE me on your thoughts about it? I'm really anxious to see what you all thought of it. I beat you're all pleased that Will finally made a move on our captivating Lady Rose. Anyway, the Friar should be coming up in the next chapter, possibly the one after that. I'm not completely sure yet. All that aside, I hope that everyone was fairly happy with this chapter. Like I said, REVIEW or MESSAGE me on your thoughts PLEASE? Also, don't forget to check out my PROFILE for other stories that you might like. Well, that's all for tonight. Thanks everyone! :)**


End file.
